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My Favorite Books of 2016
- anonbanker 10y agoAnother great list from billg. I consider Bill Gates to be a modern eugenicist, and quite possibly one of the most damaging influences on technology, vaccines (I'm pro-vax), and education. But here I am, reading another list of his favorite books of the year. They're always interesting.
- intro-b 10y agocan you elaborate on your first point? i've read fringe theories relating modern healthcare philanthropy with a sublimated form of eugenics, but they've all struck me as somewhat polarized and devoid of evidence
- jrowley 10y agoI wouldn't call it eugenics, but there certainly are some ethical concerns about Gates funded research in India on cervical cancer. See https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25101547 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25101547 The TLDR is that the researchers did not prepare subjects sufficiently before they consented to study, so they did not give informed consent. This most likely has lead to the avoidable death of 254 women. Disclosure: I'm friends with the author.
- jrowley 10y agoMore info on this from one his follow up papers: > If, at any time during the past 15+ years, the 138,624 Indian women in unscreened control groups had been told the simple truth that “even screening women once in a life-time at an appropriate age in low-resource countries may reduce the incidence of cervical cancer by 30%,” these women would have left their control groups and obtained screening on their own. To suggest, as do Sankaranarayanan et al, that Indian women would knowingly consent to be randomly assigned to more death – instead of to more life – is to suggest that Indian women are unimaginably stupid. [0] 0. http://ijme.in/index.php/ijme/article/view/2094/4581 http://ijme.in/index.php/ijme/article/view/2094/4581
- leodeid 10y agoThis (and the other) article seems to be adamant that the study was horribly put together. Was the intent of the original study merely to determine the efficacy of screening? That sounds like a really really weird study to want to run, as I'd think you can just get that from already existing cases. (I'm not a medical research person, but I'd expect that there's some cancer.gov database of diagnoses/histories/outcomes that you could chew on.) I don't know how the Gates Foundation functions, so the level of which Bill should be implicated in the failings of this study are unclear to me. It sounds like the study would have been fairly inexpensive, and thus relegated to maybe just a footnote on one afternoon for Bill. The eugenics-style arguments seen up in the parent comment seem to be a result of over-extrapolation of his "Innovating to zero" TED talk[1]. He alludes to, but does not cite, statistics correlating quality of life, health, and number of children. I also cannot find a concrete source, but playing around with wolfram alpha, it seems like there is at least a correlation according to their datasets[2]. [1] https://www.ted.com/talks/bill_gates/transcript?language=en#t-258000 https://www.ted.com/talks/bill_gates/transcript?language=en#... [2] https://www.wolframalpha.com/input/?i=life+expectancy+%7C+child+population https://www.wolframalpha.com/input/?i=life+expectancy+%7C+ch...
- nilkn 10y agoThat's a lot of very strong claims. Could you clarify them?
- cm127 10y agoHe kinda mentions it in passing at a TED talk: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hUXNiVW3oc4 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hUXNiVW3oc4 He literally suggests vaccines will help with depopulation.
- mcheshier 10y agoSeriously? You're going to have to cite sources on this. His foundation's progress on Malaria alone has saved countless lives around the world. However he earned it, the fortune he amassed is being spent helping those who need it most... in 100 years, he will probably be remembered as one of the greatest philanthropists of all time.
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- knz 10y ago"Honorable mention: The Grid, by Gretchen Bakke. This book, about our aging electrical grid, fits in one of my favorite genres: “Books About Mundane Stuff That Are Actually Fascinating.” " The author of this book was on NPR/Fresh Air in August. It was a great listen/read if you are interested in the subject. http://www.npr.org/2016/08/22/490932307/aging-and-unstable-the-nations-electrical-grid-is-the-weakest-link http://www.npr.org/2016/08/22/490932307/aging-and-unstable-t... I heard it a couple of days after a weather related power cut and ended up in the rabbit hole of the risk from cyber warfare/terrorism and solar flares. I'm not sure I would recommend that rabbit hole if you have any concerns about the reliance of society on technology and just in time shipping!
- WheelsAtLarge 10y agoHere's one that may fit into your list of must read books. Twinkie, Deconstructed by Steve Ettlinger. This book is about the ingredients that go into a Twinkie and how they are created. Super informative on the ingredients of everyday foods.
- minikomi 10y agoComing from the other end, is Christien Meindertsm's PIG 05049 Christien Meindertsma has spent three years researching all the products made from a single pig. Amongst some of the more unexpected results were: Ammunition, medicine, photo paper, heart valves, brakes, chewing gum, porcelain, cosmetics, cigarettes, conditioner and even bio diesel. http://www.christienmeindertsma.com/index.php?/books/pig-05049/ http://www.christienmeindertsma.com/index.php?/books/pig-050...
- rhizome 10y agoAnd money: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/business/2016/11/30/bank-england-yields-vegan-pressure-plastic-fivers/ http://www.telegraph.co.uk/business/2016/11/30/bank-england-...
- waltwalther 10y agojust picked this up based on your recommendation. Thanks!
- kirk211 10y agoHere is my list: - Endurance: The story about an expedition to Antartica... gone wrong (http://amzn.to/2g26L5i http://amzn.to/2g26L5i) - Crucial conversations: Learn how to argue with people without starting fights. Allowed me to look at the situation more objectively (http://amzn.to/2h8w4yN http://amzn.to/2h8w4yN) - Making of the atomic bomb (http://amzn.to/2gJF6VU http://amzn.to/2gJF6VU) - Relentless: the personal coach of Michael Jordan talks about how you can become a cleaner. Great if you want to understand how great athletes think (http://amzn.to/2gJCerW http://amzn.to/2gJCerW) - Make: rockets. Some cool stuff to do with the kids (http://amzn.to/2gZyQaQ http://amzn.to/2gZyQaQ) - How to make a spaceship: The history of the Ansari XPRIZE. Interesting read about how hard it was to build this spaceship. (http://amzn.to/2h8xMzY http://amzn.to/2h8xMzY)
- philfrasty 10y agoWould be nice if HN swaps out all those affiliate-links automatically with their own „tag“. I guess they could fund quite some startups with all the $$$ coming in.
- throwaway729 10y ago"Making of the atomic bomb" is a real classic and can't come more highly recommended. Model rockets are great for kids. I wish there were an equivalently accessible set of programmable RC plane projects.
- SystemOut 10y agoHuge recommendation for Endurance. I could hardly put that book down. It was a shame that the author died before it became popular finally. A cruel twist of fate due to when the book was released.
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- roymurdock 10y agoI really like the way he limits his list to 4 books. Most other thought leaders/influencers/CEOs do lists of 10, 20 "hot topic" books that you know they probably haven't read. I find the volume also diminishes the individual importance of each book on the list. I'll have to pick up String Theory (I love that Bill Gates reads DFW) and The Grid per his recommendations.
- maxxxxx 10y agoWhatever I know Gates is a reading machine. I am sure he has read everything he recommends. When Jon Stewart did the Daily Show I always wondered if he had read guests' books because he had pretty detailed questions.
- kloncks 10y agoThis question has been asked a lot. He's impressive in that more often than not, he reads the books cover-to-cover.
- maxxxxx 10y agoDo you know that for sure? He certainly makes that impression.
- emilga 10y ago> He doesn’t spare himself, though. “I have a habit, which I don’t recommend, of finishing essentially every book I start,” he said. “And if I disagree with a book I spend lots of time writing notes in the margins. Perversely, this means that the more I dislike a book, the longer I spend reading it.” http://www.nytimes.com/2016/01/03/fashion/bill-gates-the-billionaire-book-critic.html http://www.nytimes.com/2016/01/03/fashion/bill-gates-the-bil... I wonder if being "argumentative" against a book you disagree with in this way is a good antidote to confirmation bias. One type of person might stop reading a book when it veers in a direction they disagree with and therefore end up never changing their mind.
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- ggregoire 10y agoThe content of the blog seems blocked by uBlock Origin. (More precisely: the scripts from gatesnotes.com, and the content is loaded in JS)
- rudedogg 10y agoI use uBlock origin and it loaded for me
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- melvinmt 10y ago"My extension that blocks website content seems to block website content…" That's how I interpret complaints by adblock users.
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- jlarocco 10y ago"Good thing there are millions of other websites with book suggestions which work just fine with ad-block turned on..." That's how I interpret pages that don't work at all when I have adblock turned on. Seriously, if a website is so crammed with tracking shit and advertising that it can't even display text when I have ad-block on, then good-riddance.
- 40acres 10y agoShoe Dog might have been my favorite read of the year, its a very inspiring and highly entertaining story. Regardless of what you think of Nike you can learn a lot about determination and grit from this book. I would recommend it to anyone with an entrepreneurial spirit.
- ErikAugust 10y agoShoe Dog is amazing. The honesty is amazing.
- bduerst 10y agoSide topic: Does anyone know any good podcasts that fit his genre of “Podcasts About Mundane Stuff That Are Actually Fascinating"?
- samsolomon 10y ago99 Percent Invisible sounds like exactly what you're looking for. Most of the episodes are related to architecture or design. http://99percentinvisible.org/episodes/ http://99percentinvisible.org/episodes/
- crftr 10y agoSomewhat related, Twenty Thousand Hertz. Stories behind interesting sounds. https://www.20k.org/ https://www.20k.org/
- Kazooie 10y agoI only listened to the first few, but that is exactly the premise of Surprisingly Awesome: https://gimletmedia.com/surprisingly-awesome/ https://gimletmedia.com/surprisingly-awesome/
- donum 10y agoChaos Radio Express (https://cre.fm/ https://cre.fm/) It's german though.
- Rebelgecko 10y agoCheck out 99% Invisible
- tbihl 10y agoEcontalk. Russ Roberts is a fantastic interviewer, with only a few weak performances in his decade of weekly podcasts. He probably skews a bit libertarian for the typical HN'er to agree with, but he gives voice to a lot of points of view, and he brings on good guests. At least half of the podcasts have sufficiently interesting titles that they could be easily voted to HN front page, and the depth of discussion is good for the hour each guests receives.
- rubicon33 10y agoI wonder, did he read this much when he was founding Microsoft? I ask because, as someone who would love to read, I feel like I never have the time. And strangely, I feel morally guilty for prioritizing other things like career growth etc.
- arjunnarayan 10y agoYou might want to read General Mattis on being too busy to read from when he was in the Marines: http://www.strifeblog.org/2013/05/07/with-rifle-and-bibliography-general-mattis-on-professional-reading/ http://www.strifeblog.org/2013/05/07/with-rifle-and-bibliogr...
- Uhhrrr 10y agoIn one bio ("Hard Drive", maybe?) it mentioned that he'd just go on a boat for a week with a huge stack of books once in a while.
- wishinghand 10y agoIf you can spare an hour a day, and can read at least a page every two minutes, that's 210 pages a week. I understand if you have family obligations and long work hours but I also like to squeeze some reading in during lunch if it's not a social lunch or maybe right before bed. Just like everything else in life you have to find the time for it and then make the time for it.
- douche 10y agoI manage about a book a week reading for a half hour or so at lunch time. It's not usually heavyweight stuff - fantasy, historical fiction, sci-fi, on my kindle. But hey, it's my lunch break, right?
- colmvp 10y agoGosh, I'm a slow reader. Usually when I read books (mostly non-fiction) it takes me a few days. If I just partitioned it to 30 minutes at lunch time like yourself, it would've taken me two to three weeks to read The New Jim Crow!
- qwertyuiop924 10y agoWhile these all do look like excellent books, none of them really seem to be of particular interest to me. Except maybe "The Grid". Technical infrastructure is always fascinating and awe-inspiring. ...Which brings me to one of the two books that I reccomend on HN every time the subject comes up, because they're just that good. Exploding the Phone, a fascinating dive into the world of phone phreaking that really needs more attention. It not only discusses the people and culture of the phreaking scene, but also the technology that drew them to the phone. It really manages to capture a bit of the magic that entranced people of the time: If you're not a little bit in awe of the A4 crossbar switch by the end of it... You should be.
- trapperkeeper79 10y agoI agree. I've been impressed by his selection in previous years. This year seems drab with the exception of The Grid. Also, doesn't he read fiction? My fav book of the year was Ready Player One :)
- qwertyuiop924 10y agoI enjoyed RP1 (even if it is essentially geek masturbation material: I guess we all love a good wank once in a while). Right now, I'm working my way through Neuromancer.
- billconan 10y agosigh, as an engineer, I don't seem to have time to read books. Did he read this many books before retirement?
- jdamon96 10y agothere's always time to read books :)
- TeMPOraL 10y agoI agree. One has to realize that good books have much better self-improvement ROI than almost anything else you could be doing - and then adjust your priorities in life to accommodate that insight. :).
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- lbotos 10y agoIt just takes picking back up the habit. A year or so ago I started reading books (and cutting down on reading internet drivel) and read ~12 books this year.
- mgv11 10y agoYeah that is the way to go. Wife asked me to block some her websites so that she would have time to do more useful stuff. Suppose I need to same for myself as well.
- NamTaf 10y agoBullshit. As an engineer, I have entirely enough time to read books because I prioritise the importance of doing so. Remember, we all have the same 24 hours in a day.
- ericzawo 10y agoI can confirm Shoe Dog is an incredible book. Bill's summation is right - a how-to on building a company this is not, but it's still very much worth reading.
- jackfrodo 10y agoAwesome to see DFW on HN. Infinite Jest's tennis scenes helped shape the way I view the world. There's one particularly great one where a father is giving some life lessons to his son via tennis. And it is excellent Here's a link to (most of) the scene: https://books.google.com/books?id=Nhe2yvx6hP8C&pg=PT200&lpg=PT200&dq=infinite+jest+not+like+that+son&source=bl&ots=K3Ns0m27li&sig=xNi2d-yEmd68jJ1M0SUwnuKBDQA&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjgh6LzuN7QAhXJAcAKHb5yCQ4Q6AEIPjAF#v=onepage&q=infinite%20jest%20not%20like%20that%20son&f=false https://books.google.com/books?id=Nhe2yvx6hP8C&pg=PT200&lpg=...
- ForrestN 10y agoFlagged for undesirable ideas/politics: "Myth of the Strong Leader, by Archie Brown. This year’s fierce election battle prompted me to pick up this 2014 book, by an Oxford University scholar who has studied political leadership—good, bad, and ugly—for more than 50 years. Brown shows that the leaders who make the biggest contributions to history and humanity generally are not the ones we perceive to be “strong leaders.” Instead, they tend to be the ones who collaborate, delegate, and negotiate—and recognize that no one person can or should have all the answers. Brown could not have predicted how resonant his book would become in 2016."
- ForrestN 10y agoI guess people didn't get the memo
- wowsig 10y agoSo many book recommendations. Really suggest people to create the list of books they read in 2016 over at http://shelfjoy.com http://shelfjoy.com so that others can bookmark them and this thread is kept alive.
- perseusprime11 10y agoNot saying this is true but what if Gates's favorite books are the only books he may have read in 2016. It would be nice to see a full run down of his list including the ones he did not like.
- a_c 10y agoIt would be great if a similar list be curated from HN, if not every month, every quarter. The community here has a much diverse interests and we get to glimpse into different genres.
- DanBC 10y agoThere are a couple of projects that do this. I think they require the book recommendation to also have a link to one of the booksellers. (I noticed that I was skewing some of the results because I tend to always include Amazon links when I mention a book.) https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=12365693 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=12365693 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=10924741 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=10924741 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=13041912 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=13041912
- a_c 10y agoThat's awesome, thanks for the links!
- raintrees 10y agoA humorous observation: Ever look at an HTML page created by Microsoft Word? Quite a bit of code goes into what should have been a simple HTML document. Now try viewing source of Mr. Gates' web page here: 6873 lines, the HTML <p> content starts at 5816 and goes for 9 lines to describe the 4 books plus the bonus, for a whopping total of 9 lines of content, 6864 lines of behavior and presentation... Wow.
- mark242 10y agoIf you were ever wondering why Google started AMP, this is it. 5k+ LOC of inlined Javascript, 2.6MB of data and a 13 second load time.
- qwertyuiop924 10y agoYou could just not write the code in the first place.
- savanaly 10y agoFor all that, it loads really fast and looks nice.
- Noseshine 10y agoIt takes GIGA-hertz machines to achieve that. On highly parallelized architectures. Often with SSD storage. When I started on the Internet I had a 33 MHz 32 bit CPU, just for comparison, and I used a word processor on 8 bit and with WYSIWYG and a modern GUI on 16 bit. So you telling me "it loads really fast and looks nice" leaves me unsure about my feelings, considering a wider context. It's just some (passive) graphics and text!
- staticelf 10y agoWhen you started websites also looked like shit. So..
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- tebuevd 10y agoShoe Dog is absolutely incredible. When you hear the back stories about the name Nike, the swoosh, Phil's original business plan... Fascinating. I do recommend that people are generally careful with blindly taking everything as a straight truth, especially when an author seems "trustworthy". It is a known tactic to sneak in lies or exaggerations among the truths.
- reubenswartz 10y agoI thought Shoe Dog was a great book, although my favorite book of the year was a Gates Notes recommendation for summer reading-- The Vital Question, by Nick Lane. If you're interested in biology and the origins of life, it makes some provocative claims, and backs them up. If this doesn't change how you think about life on earth (and elsewhere), I don't know what will... https://www.gatesnotes.com/About-Bill-Gates/Summer-Books-2016 https://www.gatesnotes.com/About-Bill-Gates/Summer-Books-201... https://www.amazon.com/Vital-Question-Evolution-Origins-Complex/dp/0393352978 https://www.amazon.com/Vital-Question-Evolution-Origins-Comp...
- aorth 10y agoI will put The Vital Question on my "to read" list. On a similar topic, I've just picked up Sapiens, which was also on Gates' 2016 Summer reading list. A few people in my circles had been talking about it so I decided to pick it up, before even noticing Gates had recommended it.
- reubenswartz 10y agoI enjoyed Sapiens, too. Just not as much as The Vital Question.
- lintiness 10y agobill, and most people, should read and recommend more fiction (there's a little bit of fiction in every one of his recommended books i'm sure).